Parents Not Eligible for FFCRA Leave for Remote Learning if In-Person Learning is Offered (Coronavirus and the Law)

The Department of Labor (DOL) issued long-awaited guidance on paid family leave and jobless benefits when schools are open for in-person, virtual, or hybrid learning.

Workers, DOL says, are ineligible for virus-related paid family leave and jobless benefits if they decide to educate their children from home when the school gives them the choice of either online or in-person learning.

[clear]The DOL also addressed two other common school-related situations. Some schools have opted for “alternate day” or “hybrid-attendance” scenarios where the school is physically open each day, but groups of students alternate physical and remote attendance. Workers are eligible for FFCRA in these scenarios, DOL said, so long as they need leave to actually care for the child during their “remote” day, and so long as no other suitable person is available to care for the child. Finally, if a school opens remotely, but might open later, workers generally remain eligible for FFCRA during the remote open.